Twins discover that substitute teacher is woman accused of fatally shooting their older brother
In an upsetting twist of fate, teen twins whose older brother had just died were sent back to school — only to find that their substitute math teacher was the woman who had allegedly shot their brother.
Mykal Prime, 19, was fatally shot in Nashville, Tenn., on July 25. And while Metro Nashville Police are still investigating, Khadijah Griffis, 25, reportedly told police that she had pulled the trigger of her own pistol in self-defense while selling him marijuana in a gas station parking lot.
Weeks later, Griffis wound up in a classroom — at Republic High School, a Metro charter school — subbing for a teacher of the grieving 14-year-old siblings.
"I thought the school was safe," Juanneika Scott, Mykal’s mother, told WTVF. “They were put in the room with their brother’s killer and they were tormented by this woman."
According to Scott, some students in the classroom had had Griffis as a substitute teacher before. She claims students even asked her how she had gotten away with shooting a person.
“I was putting two and two together and I was like, ‘that’s my brother’s killer,’” Daquan, told WTVF. He had confirmed Griffis’ identity after looking her up online while in class. “She kept on mimicking my name, and kept on taunting it. She kept saying, ‘Daquan Prime.’"
Republic Charter Schools uses two outside agencies to hire substitute teachers, and Griffis was assigned by Enriched Schools, a New Orleans–based temp agency that places subs in charter schools across the county.
“As soon as we found out what happened we obviously immediately asked her and escorted her off the premises,” Jon Rybka, the CEO of RePublic Charter Schools, said. Rybka added that they were in immediate contact with Enriched for an explanation.
Following the shooting, Rybka said a number of teachers sent Enriched Schools articles regarding Griffis, and she was "red-flagged.” Somehow the hold was lifted, and she was assigned back into the classroom.
“If a red flag ain’t working, what other security measures need to be done?” Scott asked. “I feel like I let my kids down when I sent them to school that day.”
Rybka says that they will not use Enriched Teachers again until they are assured such an incident will not be repeated.
Representatives for RePublic Charter Schools and Enriched Teachers did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s off-hours requests for comment.
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